Acer TravelMate 8481T-6873: Remarkable Road Warrior
by Dustin Sklavos on December 11, 2011 2:22 AM EST- Posted in
- Laptops
- Intel
- Toshiba
- TravelMate
Conclusion: A Good Start, But Needs Improvement
I will say the Acer TravelMate 8481T-6873 is a surprisingly good little system. It should be; it's geared more towards professional users. Acer has done a good job with the majority of the fit and finish of the 8481T; the black brushed aluminum, solid body, and healthy battery life make it a notebook that most people would probably be happy to use on the go, and there's plenty of power under the hood, too.
Unfortunately, specs don't make everything, and I wish Acer hadn't cheaped out in certain places while keeping the business-class pricetag. I can forgive a crappy screen on an ultraportable because I'd be more apt to use it for just writing on the go, taking notes and playing the odd game of Magic. A better screen would be good, but there's no real need for high contrast and amazing colors for office applications. The SSD is slow by SSD standards, but the user experience is still snappier than any mechanical drive-based system I've tested.
But that keyboard just murders it. I've ranted and complained about this Acer keyboard here so many times I feel like I'd surprise some of the readers if I didn't go off on a tear about it, but the fact is that a keyboard is pretty much the whole reason you'd buy a laptop instead of a tablet at this point, and this keyboard sucks mightily. It's a chore to use, I find my typing is less accurate on it, and it's the kind of thing I would go out of my way to avoid.
Acer is transitioning towards a far superior chiclet-style keyboard on their consumer lines (though why the Enter and backslash keys touch is beyond me), and I could forgive the 8481T's other flaws easily enough if that was the keyboard I was working with here. Hopefully we'll see the TravelMate line move to a new style keyboard with the next refresh.
As an end consumer you're going to have to decide whether or not these are compromises you're willing to make. Acer's $1349 MSRP is frankly a bit outrageous, but you can find the system for at least $100 less if you shop around. Unfortunately, the entry-level Toshiba Portege Z830 is lighter, has a slightly faster SSD at the same capacity, and is way cheaper, and under those circumstances I'd easily go for the Toshiba. ASUS and Acer also have ultrabooks that are thinner and lighter while still offering decent build quality, and we'll have reviews of those shortly; the keyboard change along might be worth the switch. As a final option, Lenovo offers the X220 at or below the TravelMate's price range, and that notebook offers a vastly superior keyboard and processor. And all of this is before even bringing the Sony Vaio SB into the equation.
If you can find the TravelMate 8481T-6873 at a lower price and you're willing to put up with the keyboard, I could probably recommend it. It's certainly far from the worst ultraportable I've tested and it's a sterling reminder that ultrabooks aren't the only option available to PC users. But if you're as picky as I am when it comes to typing, you may want to look elsewhere.
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fic2 - Monday, December 12, 2011 - link
+100! A laptop over $1000 and it has such crappy resolution. My 6 years old Dell that I bought for $650 has better resolution.vision33r - Sunday, December 11, 2011 - link
I have owned about 3 Acer laptops in different years and they've retained the same econo and budget quality to garner their budget badge.The last one I've owned had a nice GPU but once I started typing on it I realized what the mushy floating on an island description meant.
It was one of the worst keyboards for a full size 15" laptop.
The display was nothing to write home about either, it was glossy and contrast is poor.
If Acer is serious about competing with Apple and start charging Apple prices. Don't think consumers are dumb, there's a reason Apple Macbooks are selling double digits %.
You can also run Windows on Macs these days so how can Acer screw up so badly and still want to charge Apple prices.
futurepastnow - Sunday, December 11, 2011 - link
You are a spammer. Stop spamming.JarredWalton - Sunday, December 11, 2011 - link
I think your comment got relocated, but I deleted the offending comment. Thanks!rdamiani - Sunday, December 11, 2011 - link
A 14" 768p screen is too low resolution to be useful with the enormous ribbon bars Microsoft has inflicted on the current versions of everything. It's like looking at your work through a keyhole.ymrtech - Sunday, December 11, 2011 - link
please please PLEASE try and get an ASUS u36SD in for review.it is basically the same as this but from ASUS!
it has it's pros and cons aswell but it has the same price and ASUS quality!
it even has a dedicated nvidia 520M.
i get a good 8-10hours of usage (notes/homework)
6-8 hours of firefox web browsing
4-6 hours of youtube
and about 4-5 hours of HD video playback!
at 800-1200$ (depends on model) and considering it weights 3.74lbs with the battery
this laptop needs some publicity!
DanNeely - Sunday, December 11, 2011 - link
I took a look at the notebook on Asus's website and they prominantly had this text displayed: "ASUS U36 the first 19mm thin laptop with Intel standard voltage CPU in the world" and was briefly dumbfounded.While going with the cheapest CPU available makes sense at the $800 price point, for $1200 not offering a ULV version that either is cooler and longer running; or that shifted the TDP to the GPU. Looking at the numbes in the wikipedia you you could get as high as a GT555M with at most needing a very slight GPU underclock/undervolt. This'd get you to a mid level gaming laptop while still having ultra-portable weight and battery life values when on the go.
fic2 - Monday, December 12, 2011 - link
If you already have one and love it why do you need it reviewed? Needing validation of your opinions?Anonymous Blowhard - Monday, December 12, 2011 - link
"These notebooks just aren't adequate for mobile gaming beyond older games like Unreal Tournament 2004."Skyrim on an i5/HD3000, 1366x768 Low.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJuBfrDa8lo&t=1...
Sure, it runs at "console quality" but it *runs.*
andrewrocks - Monday, December 12, 2011 - link
The new Sony Z is $2k... But its 2.5 pounds, ssd, has great battery life and is very thin! 1080p is also an option on 13" screen!On paper these computers are stunning! Please review one AT, I'm curious if they can walk the walk.